


Early Morning Tea

by WhirlyBot



Series: The Golden Teahouse [2]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: F/M, First Meetings, Meet-Cute, back at it with this au, shiro is a sweetheart
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-16
Updated: 2016-10-16
Packaged: 2018-08-22 16:13:51
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,130
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8292185
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/WhirlyBot/pseuds/WhirlyBot
Summary: “Well,” Shiro says, “Ring the bell if you need anything else.” He needs to get away before he has the chance to embarrass himself.
“Why don’t you join me?” Allura asks, patting the seat next to her. “I’d love the company.”
Shiro thinks what.





	

They’ve only been open for thirty minutes when Shiro notices that Keith keeps wiping down the same table. He runs the cloth over it, paces around for a minute, then walks back to the table and repeats the process.

Shiro goes over to see what has Keith so riled up. “You okay?” he asks, watching Keith clean the table for the seventh time.

Keith seems to snap out of it, shaking his head. “Yeah, it’s just that I’m going out with Lance tonight.” He pauses, squeezing the rag tightly. “It’s our first real date.”

“I see,” Shiro says, then glances at the clock. “I’ll tell you what. Why don’t you take the day off?”

Keith blinks in surprise. “Are you sure?”

Shiro shrugs. “Friday mornings are slow anyway. I’ll be fine, and you deserve to be well rested for your date. Now go!” 

‘Thanks you, Shiro,” Keith smiles and is nearly out the door before he looks back. “If you need help, call me.”

Shiro rolls his eyes. “I’m serious. Have fun on your date!”

“Alright,” Keith says, and finally manages to leave the building.

Shiro laughs softly and walks into the back of the teahouse, going through the small door hidden from customers. He loves the cozy office space here, though it’s less of an office and more of an unholy hodgepodge of stuff. He tries to keep it organized, but more often than not he’ll find tea leaves strewn throughout his paperwork. Keith always tells him that it would be less messy if he just got a computer for work, but Shiro refuses. He hates typing with his prosthetic.

The sound of the bells above the door jingling draws him out of the small room.

A tall and striking woman stands in the doorway, and Shiro nearly bites his own tongue trying to get out a simple “Good morning.”

“Good morning to you too,” she replies, and Shiro takes note of her slight accent. She looks around for a moment before choosing one of the _chabudai _, sitting cross-legged on the _zafu _.____

____Shiro walks over quickly. “What can I get for you?”_ _ _ _

____She looks up at him and smiles softly, teeth stark white against her deep brown skin. “What would you recommend?”_ _ _ _

____This is it. After everything, Shiro is going to die here, undone by a beautiful woman’s smile._ _ _ _

____Attempting to seem somewhat professional, he composes himself before responding. “My favorite is the Bai Hao Oolong. It’s very sweet, so if that isn’t your preference-“_ _ _ _

____“It sounds delightful,” she says, smiling once again._ _ _ _

____“Okay,” Shiro says, “I’ll get right to it.”_ _ _ _

____He hurries behind the counter and tries his best not to stare at the woman as he boils the water. Despite his best efforts, Shiro’s gaze drifts to her several times while he prepares the tea. He catches himself quickly and looks back down, suddenly very interested in the individual grains of the countertop._ _ _ _

____Once he’s finished, he brings her the steaming cup. She holds it carefully and takes a deep sniff. “This smells amazing,” she says, looking up at him._ _ _ _

____Shiro grins and definitely does not blush. “Thanks,” he says. It is all his brain can come up with._ _ _ _

____The woman takes a small sip, then sets the cup gently on the table. “I’m Allura. What’s your name?”_ _ _ _

____“That’s a pretty name,” Shiro says, before he registers that she asked him for his own. “I’m Shiro.”_ _ _ _

____Allura laughs softly. “Thank you, Shiro. I like your name as well.”_ _ _ _

____“Well,” Shiro says, “Ring the bell if you need anything else.” He needs to get away before he has the chance to embarrass himself._ _ _ _

____“Why don’t you join me?” Allura asks, patting the seat next to her. “I’d love the company.”_ _ _ _

____Shiro thinks _what _.___ _ _ _

______“Okay,” he says, and sits down beside her._ _ _ _ _ _

______◊_ _ _ _ _ _

______They talk for nearly three hours. Shiro has to get up several times to serve customers, but goes back to chatting with Allura whenever there’s a slow moment._ _ _ _ _ _

______She’s a captivating person, and Shiro has never met anyone quite like her. He learns about the small country in South Africa where she grew up, and her eccentric but good-natured uncle Coran. She tells him about her pet mice, and her late father’s love of tea. She’s a wonderful storyteller, and Shiro is hooked on every word that comes out of her mouth._ _ _ _ _ _

______In turn, he talks to her about moving from Japan to America when he was ten. He explains that the teahouse was in honor of the one that his parents had owned before he was born. She listens attentively, and Shiro appreciates it. Before Allura, only Keith understood when he talked about his move to America and the vast differences he had to get used to. It’s comforting to know that more people can relate to his situation._ _ _ _ _ _

______She doesn’t gawk at his prosthetic, which he’s grateful for. Shiro doesn’t mind when people ask him about it, but he hates when they stare and invent their own stories about him. Allura seems to accept it as a part of him, simple as that. He mentions it in passing, and the conversation continues normally without lingering on the subject. She isn’t fazed at all, and Shiro is somewhat impressed._ _ _ _ _ _

______Eventually, Allura glances at the clock and sighs. “I’m afraid I have places to be this afternoon. It was a pleasure meeting you.” She stands up and offers her hand to Shiro._ _ _ _ _ _

______“You too,” Shiro says, reluctant to see her go. He takes her hand and she pulls him up almost effortlessly. _My god, she’s really strong, _he thinks.___ _ _ _ _ _

________She hesitates for a moment. “Will you be in tomorrow?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Shiro clears his throat and tries not to sound too excited about the prospect of seeing her again. “Not tomorrow, but I work Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays as well.”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“Wonderful,” she says, “I’ll see you Monday, then?”_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________“That would be great,” he says, grinning._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________She lingers for a moment, then walks out quickly, and Shiro can’t help staring long after she’s already gone._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________There’s only a few hours before closing, and it’s surprisingly busy the last hour. Shiro is too preoccupied to dwell on her too much, but finally it’s closing time and Allura is all he can think about once again. He’s almost glad that Keith wasn’t around, because he knows that he would be the subject of endless teasing._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Once he locks the door behind him, Shiro walks the short distance to his house. He lucked out with the teahouse’s location, which is less than a block away. He enjoys the walk to and from work, and today it seems even more enjoyable than usual._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

________Shiro sighs contentedly as he walks along the sidewalk, and knows that next Monday is going to be a good day._ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

**Author's Note:**

> If it wasn't clear, this piece takes place roughly a week after the first drabble. I apologize that it has taken me so long to write so little! I hope that I can update this series regularly and introduce the other characters soon. Comments are always appreciated!


End file.
